Deutsche Bank AG is planning to promote its North American equities chief, Thomas Patrick, to oversee the bank’s global stock-financing and trading business, according to people familiar with the matter.

The German bank’s top equities job opened up last month when Garth Ritchie, who had been global equities chief since 2010, was elevated to run the company’s markets business.

The markets division, which encompasses equities and fixed-income trading, is being reshaped as part of a broader overhaul of the investment bank and other major divisions. Mr. Patrick will report to Mr. Ritchie, the people said.

Mr. Patrick, 44 years old, is based in New York. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2012 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Besides running the U.S. equities business, he oversees equity derivatives sales and trading globally.

His planned promotion hasn’t been announced. Mr. Patrick and a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman declined to comment. The move is one of numerous being planned by the lender as it reshuffles executives after setting new companywide financial targets under new co-Chief Executive John Cryan.

Deutsche Bank’s equities-trading unit previously was part of the broader investment bank, known as corporate banking and securities, which last month was split in two. As part of the split, Mr. Ritchie was named to oversee the global markets division, while deal advising, underwriting and global transaction banking report to Jeff Urwin.

The equities business that Mr. Patrick will be heading handles clients’ electronic and block-trading orders, sells derivatives and other customized products, and loans securities to hedge funds and other investment clients. Equity sales and trading generated 588 million euros ($644 million) in revenue for Deutsche Bank in the third quarter, a 19% decline from the same quarter last year, while revenue increased in the markets division’s bigger debt-trading business.

Mr. Cryan told analysts last week that the bank’s equities revenues looked weak in the third quarter in part because Deutsche dialed back on risk-taking while some competitors ramped up in selected markets. Mr. Cryan said the equities division remains a major focus for the bank going forward, including in its prime-brokerage unit catering to hedge funds and other asset managers, which he called a core business.

Deutsche Bank’s markets executives face dual challenges of holding into staff worried about bonus cuts and reassuring clients that cost-cutting and a complex reorganization won’t seriously hamper the bank’s ability to compete in areas including financing trades and advising on deals.

On Monday, Mr. Cryan spoke with global markets and investment-banking employees in a telecast town hall address to answer questions about the bank’s strategy announcement and share some of his views about how investors and analysts received the news, according to people familiar with the address.

Mr. Cryan has offered reassurances that employees will receive what he describes as appropriate bonuses this year, despite cost-cutting measures and moves to change how compensation is decided, the people said.

He has told managers that in his view, concerns about bonus cutbacks were being overblown, the people said. Mr. Cryan told analysts last week that Deutsche Bank will be more discretionary this year in awarding bonuses so that the amounts paid are closely tied to performance. He added, “We want to remain competitive to retain good people and attract good people.”

Write to Jenny Strasburg at jenny.strasburg@wsj.com

Breaking the story

Jenny Strasburg broke the news that Deutsche Bank AG is planning to promote its North American equities chief, Thomas Patrick, to oversee the bank’s global stock-financing and trading business. According to sources, Mr. Patrick will report to Garth Ritchie, who had been global equities chief since 2010 and was elevated to run the company’s markets business last month.

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